Issue 965 – Above the Clouds – January 24, 2023
Yesterday, Kathy and I flew from Abbotsford to Toronto. We had to be at the airport at 4:15 AM. The airport is only about 20 minutes from home so we couldn’t complain too much about that. It beats the hour away through city traffic to Vancouver International.
We flew with a very no-frills airline that we have used before. No luxuries and you pay extra for anything above and beyond your seat, but they fly you efficiently from point A to B. That was all we needed.
I had an aisle seat, so my view was limited, but periodically I could move just the right way to enjoy the view. Much of the ground beneath us was covered in clouds, but the view above and across the horizon was amazing.
Kathy had a better spot for looking out the window and likened the sky to an aircraft superhighway. At one point, she could clearly see five other airplanes.
As we flew, I contemplated the amazing feat of cruising in the air at 35,000 feet above ground level. We travelled halfway across Canada About 5,000km or 3,000 miles) in a little over 4 hours, a distance that would have taken many months to walk or even days to drive. All the while, we enjoyed a view of the sky that was not visible from the ground.
We were at an altitude that was an unattainable dream only a few generations ago, and we weren’t even in space yet (space begins at around the 100 km mark). Still, it changes your perspective on the earth below and the vastness of the sky and space above.
The skies above us and space beyond are truly vast beyond my comprehension. How incredible is the God who spoke it all into existence?
It also got me contemplating the location of glory with the Lord. Where is heaven? How big is it? I don’t have the answer to those questions, but I believe with all my heart that it is a real place.
The location is shielded from our eyes at the moment, as is its opposite, hell, the place of punishment. The fact that we can’t see something with our eyes doesn’t negate its reality. We can all think of things that are invisible to us but real.
The Word of God declares it, and my experience with people dying affirms it. Those who die knowing the Lord make the transition with far more peace than those who don’t.
I can’t find it on a map, and While I have a general idea from God’s Word about how it might look, yet, I am looking forward to the day I see it with my own eyes.
God created us to enjoy life on this planet, and a part of us wants to remain. I don’t think any sane person wants to die. Yet part of us wants to leave the struggles behind and be with Him.
Paul wrote,
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For a while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 2 Corinthians 5:1-9
Whether we live down here below the clouds or “up there” somewhere above them, God loves us and is preparing the perfect home for His children. That gives me cause to rejoice.
Praise God for the beautiful eternal home He has for us.
Be Blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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